In September 2023, the keynote speaker at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Concrete Contractors shared a fact-packed presentation titled “Opioid Success Stories.” Despite talking about the opioid crisis plaguing the nation for the past two decades, this presentation was both hopeful and actionable.
An experienced construction risk management, safety, and wellness practitioner, Cal Beyer described how and why the construction industry has been adversely impacted by the opioid crisis. He shared lived experience of prescription pain management misuse following multiple knee injuries and surgeries as a teenager.
Beyer’s presentation painted shared stories of methods and techniques of how contractors and other industry stakeholders are addressing opioid risk reduction and overdose prevention. Beyer’s presentation described “first dose prevention” strategies to protect families at their home and workers in workplaces.
ForConstructionPros.com invited Cal Beyer to author a series of articles exploring how and why the opioid crisis impacts the construction industry. The first article shares important facts about opioids and strategies to protect workers and their families from opioids encountered in Workers Compensation and Employee Benefit programs. Beyer will be interviewing key industry collaborators and highlighting key resources to help contractors and other stakeholders move from awareness to action and then to advocacy.
This series will explore tough topics relating to lived experience with opioid addiction treatment and recovery, providing naloxone in the workplace and on jobsites, as well as resources for grief and bereavement.
Look for various risk reduction resources relating to the topics with each article.
